New Mixtape - The End...?

It's ironic that I return from a long hiatus to talk about a mixtape I made centered around songs about endings. I submitted it for the Yewknee Summer Mix Series, and you can view the tracklist and download it here. It features a wide variety of musicians new and old, including a handful (Jeff Hanson, Sparklehorse, J Dilla) who are sadly no longer with us. This mixtape is dedicated to them. Enjoy.

Hall of Awesome: The 2009 Mixtape

Every year, I compile a top ten list of my favorite albums of the year. However, there are a ton of individual songs that deserve some props as well, even if their respective albums didn't impress me enough to make my best-of list. So, without further ado, enjoy these 19 tracks that epitomize the best music 2009 has to offer. As with last year, there's a La La playlist at the bottom of this list (and in the sidebar) featuring all of these tracks, which you can stream in full.

1. How I Became the Bomb, "Action Lady"
A highlight from a solid series of EPs from lovely Tennessee rockers How I Became the Bomb.
2. Imogen Heap, "First Train Home"
3. Girls, "Lust for Life"
4. Andrew Bird, "Anonanimal"
5. Death Cab for Cutie, "Little Bribes"
Further proof that Death Cab can still deliver catchy little pop songs like no one else.
6. Animal Collective, "Bluish"
7. Basement Jaxx, "Raindrops"
My pick for dance anthem of 2009.
8. Camera Obscura, "The Sweetest Thing"
9. Dirty Projectors, "Stillness is the Move"
10. Fever Ray, "If I Had a Heart"
11. Discovery, "I Want You Back"
It doesn't matter how many "tributes" people will be making to Michael Jackson in the coming years. They won't be half as awesome as this cover from Vampire Weekend/Ra Ra Riot side-project Discovery.
12. The Mountain Goats, "Drug Life"
The best track from the Merge covers compilation, with John Darnielle returning to his trademark, bare-bones, voice-and-guitar sound.
13. Helado Negro, "Dahum"
14. Jay-Z feat. Alicia Keys, "Empire State of Mind"
15. They Might Be Giants, "Meet the Elements"
They Might Be Giants are no strangers to making educational pop songs, but this is one that can be loved by children and adults alike.
16. Yo La Tengo, "Periodically Double or Triple"
17. The Avett Brothers, "I and Love and You"
18. Mastodon, "The Last Baron"
Naturally, this playlist can't end without thirteen minutes of ear-bleeding metal.
19. Bon Iver, "Woods"
With "Woods" and the Jaxx's "Raindrops," we proved Jay-Z wrong about the death of Autotune.

The Hall of Awesome 2009 Mixta...

Hall of Awesome: 2008 Mixtape

Every year, I select my top ten albums of the year, and every year, there are always a ton of other albums that may not be deserving of that list, yet still have some amazing songs on them. That’s where the 2008 Mixtape comes in, taking those individual songs and stringing them together in a futile attempt at coherence. Thanks to the people over at La La, you can stream the whole thing for free in the blog sidebar. Here's the full tracklist, along with my comments on some of my selections:

1. The Decemberists, "Valarie Plame"
   Colin Meloy and Co. put out three singles this year, each with some pretty solid tunes on them, but it begs the question: Why didn’t they just release one six-track EP instead of spreading them out over the course of three months?
   
2. The Magnetic Fields, "California Girls"
   
3. Gnarls Barkley, "Who's Gonna Save My Soul"
   
4. Beck, "Chemtrails"
   Danger Mouse gets a double feature this year, and here's hoping 2009 will prove to be an equally productive year for the man.
   
5. Oasis, "The Shock of the Lightning"
   
6. The Explorers Club, "Forever"
   Even though I wouldn't stop talking about this album, it didn't blow my mind enough to appear on my top 10 list this year. It still remains an impressive collection of Brian Wilson-influenced beach pop that is definitely worth a listen.
   
7. Chairlift, "Bruises"
   Someone give the guy who picks the songs for Apple ads a raise.
   
8. The Hold Steady, "Constructive Summer"
   
9. Flight of the Conchords, "Ladies of the World"
   This album would've easily made my top 10 list if Flight of the Conchords had bothered to include ALL of the songs from season one. Oh well.
   
10. Fleet Foxes, "Blue Ridge Mountains"
    I got into this album extremely late in the game, so it won't be topping my list like some others, but this song immediately caught my ear and refuses to let go of it.
    
11. Keane, "The Lovers are Losing"
    
12. Ben Folds, "Bitch Went Nuts"
    I'm willing to forgive Folds for some of the filler on his latest album, mainly because the Ben Folds Five reunion concert kicked so much ass.
    
13. Music Go Music, "Light of Love"
    Yeah, I thought it was ABBA, too, but it's not.
    
14. Death Vessel, "Bruno's Torso"
    
15. Of Montreal, "An Eluardian Instance"
    
16. Antony & The Johnsons, "Shake That Devil"
    I've always thought Antony was too weird for his own good, but this song really blew me away. The awesome part takes over at about 2:30.
    
17. Benji Hughes, "Baby, It's Your Life"
    
18. Conor Oberst, "Souled Out!!!"
    
19. Peter Gabriel, "Down to Earth"
    This final track should serve as an indicator of what my favorite movie of the year is going to be.